Pizza beans on toast is comfort food when you need it quick

Before this year’s presidential election, before the coronavirus pandemic, before TikTok, before the long fight for marriage equality was won — join me as I zoom all the way back to the fall of 2014. That is when Deb Perelman, the recipe developer and writer behind Smitten Kitchen, one of the nicest places on the internet, brought a casserole dish of stewed beans covered in a blanket of melted cheese to a potluck.

“Most of us know the number one rule of cooking for a crowd: don’t make anything new or scary,” Perelman wrote in her second cookbook, “Smitten Kitchen Every Day,” noting that embarking upon and then serving a labor-intensive or complex dish like a crown roast or soufflé might “send you into a vibe-ruining tizzy.”

For several reasons, but mostly because it was what she “was in the mood to cook that day,” Perelman broke that rule to make a dish inspired by Greek gigantes plaki, or big white beans baked in a tomato sauce seasoned with garlic, herbs and warm spices.

She envisioned “a mash-up of a giant-beans-in-tomato-sauce dish from Greece and American-style baked ziti, with beans instead of noodles.” (Longtime Smitten Kitchen fans will agree: Perelman’s a genius.) “Tomato-Braised Gigante Bean Gratin” was a mouthful, but it was accurate and, more importantly, tasted great.

But when Perelman tried to get her then-kindergartner son to taste it, there was, let’s say, some resistance. “I do not like beans,” he declared, unmoved by his mother’s entreaties — “You’re going to love these.” “You should try them! You’ll see!” — until she realized that it wasn’t the dish, it was the marketing. “There’s tomato sauce,” she said, “and look at all of that cheese on top … It’s just like pizza.” And that’s how Pizza Beans was born.

I clicked over to smittenkitchen.com on Sept. 26, 2017, and read the title of that day’s blog post: “pizza beans.” Simple, evocative, instantly appealing. I made the saucy, cheesy beans that evening and ate them for the next several days. Like a lot of recipes I’ve found on Smitten Kitchen, it’s one I’ve made many, many times. Almost every time, I’ve tweaked the original recipe, swapping ingredients in and out; experimenting with different seasonings and sauce bases, a variety of cheeses, other types of beans; and adding chicken sausage or bits of crisp bacon, mushrooms and bell pepper, pepperoni or anchovies.

When I reached Perelman recently by phone, she said she doesn’t make Pizza Beans as often as she used to. “Unfortunately since then, I’ve had another child and she’s lukewarm on beans,” she explained. But then, after thinking about it for a minute, she realized she’s been making some rendition of that recipe for years. “I’ve done baked black beans with a salsa base. I’ve done French onion baked lentils and farro. I’ve done braised chickpeas with zucchini and pesto that gets dollops of burrata or ricotta on top,” Perelman said, noting that she sometimes creates new dishes by simply swapping ingredients in favorite formulas. “There are a lot of fun ways you can riff around with ingredients. I love doing that.” She gave me her blessing, too. “I’m thrilled that people love it enough to play around with it, to have fun with it.”

The original recipe can be made in less than an hour — if you’ve never made it, please do — but here I am sharing a speedier version.

Perelman suggests serving the baked casserole of stewed beans with pieces of garlic bread. In this variation, you’ll quickly stew a can of white beans in doctored jarred marinara (Rao’s won our blind taste test and has long been my go-to), spread them onto pieces of crusty garlic toast, sprinkle some cheese on top, and slide the mess under the broiler until the cheese is melty and bubbly and maybe a little burnished. The whole thing takes less than 30 minutes, because sometimes you want food that’s ostensibly virtuous yet comforting as soon as possible.

Pizza Beans on Toast

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more as needed

4 (3/4-inch-thick) slices sturdy bread, such as a country loaves or sourdough

3 garlic cloves

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or navy beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup store-bought marinara sauce, such as Rao’s

1/4 cup dry white wine (see Substitutions)

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Fontina

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated parmesan cheese (optional)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional)

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

In a large (12-inch) skillet, preferably one with high sides, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Set a large sheet pan near your workspace.

Add the bread to the skillet and cook, turning occasionally and adding more oil as needed, until lightly browned on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the bread to the prepared sheet pan and let sit until cool enough to handle, 1 to 2 minutes.

Gently rub the toasted bread with one of the cloves of garlic. You will probably not use the entire clove; finely chop the remaining garlic.

Position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler element and preheat to HIGH.

Return the skillet to medium-high and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Add the chopped garlic, and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the beans, and let them mingle with the garlic for about 1 minute. Stir in the marinara sauce and wine, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally and mashing some of the beans with a wooden spoon, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Spoon 1/2 to 2/3 cup of the bean mixture onto each piece of bread, spreading it to the edges. Top each with 1/4 cup of the Fontina and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan, if using. Transfer the sheet pan to the broiler for about 2 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Divide the toasts among plates, garnish with the parsley and red pepper flakes, if using, and serve hot.

Substitutions: Marinara can be swapped for pesto. If you don’t have canned white beans, use 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans. Cannellini or navy beans can be traded for any white bean. Garlic can be replaced by a shallot. If you don’t have white wine, you can use chicken or vegetable broth, or water.

Variations: Before broiling, top these toasts with anything you’d like, including pepperoni, cooked sausage crumbles or thinly sliced vegetables.

Notes: Any tomato-based pasta sauce will work here, but we recommend using one you have tasted and enjoyed. If you make your own, that’s even better.

Serves 2 to 4 (makes 4 pizza bean toasts); refrigerate the bean mixture for up to 4 days.

Nutrition per toast: 397 calories, 35g carbohydrates, 34mg cholesterol, 21g fat, 7g fiber, 17g protein, 7g saturated fat, 764mg sodium, 5g sugar

— Very loosely adapted from “Smitten Kitchen Every Day” by Deb Perelman (Knopf, 2017)